Welcome to the Torture Chamber
by Hikari Rioki
Summary: After leaving for a much-needed vacation, the weather becomes disastrous, and they must stop at an old mansion... You have been warned...
1. Prologue

I do not own anything from Fruits Basket.  I am just borrowing the characters for a little while.

Prologue 

            Hatori couldn't believe the terrible weather as he continued his drive.  The Sohma family had rented a van for a much-needed vacation.  The present occupants were Hatori, Shigure, Ayame, Haru, Momiji, Yuki, Kyo, Akito (AN: surprised?), Kisa, Hiro, Ritsu, and Tohru.  The rain continued its downpour, making visibility even worse than it already was.

            Haru sighed as he glanced out the window.  "Hey," he said, "there's a mansion over there."

"Huh?  Really?" questioned Tohru.

"Maybe we can stop there?"  Haru patiently awaited Hatori's answer.

"Fine," said the doctor.  He turned into the driveway and parked the rather large van.  Once everyone got out, he locked all the doors.

            Kyo hurriedly opened an umbrella, the rain making him very uncomfortable.  Yuki did the same and offered to share his with Tohru, who gladly accepted.  The others just hurried up to the locked door, hoping to get out of the rain as soon as possible.  Hatori knocked, wondering if anyone was indeed home.  The lights were out, and no smoke came out of the chimney.

            Then, quite suddenly, the door opened.  "It's almost like… we were expected," said Ayame as he carefully walked inside.  The others followed.  "Hmm… now who opened the door for us?"

"Umm, maybe a ghost?" offered Shigure.

            The others hated to agree with the dog, but felt that he was right… for once.  Ritsu stayed close to Hatori, hanging onto his arm with his entire mite.  Tohru remained with Yuki, Kyo not far behind.  Momiji and Haru stayed together as well, as did Ayame and Shigure.  Only Akito was brave enough to walk inside alone.  "Hello?" he called.

            No answer came to him.  Once all were inside, the door slammed shut!  Tohru screamed, as did Ritsu and Momiji, desperately wanting out of the pitch black darkness that surrounded them.  The many lights flickered on.  The smell of smoke was coming from another room.  On the wall in front of them, written in blood, were just five words…  **Welcome to the Torture Chamber.**

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            This rating will most definitely change after I get some ideas.  I hope it isn't _too_ scary for you.  You have been warned…


	2. Disappearing Yuki and Remembering Akito

Hi!  So many reviews already!  I can't believe how popular this thing is!  Also, about the pairings… these may change if a certain person, or certain people don't like it.  Ahem!  Possible Yuki/Akito parts (maybe… haven't decided… Yuki-kun will probably stop speaking to me… Akito too.  If so, I blame the people who want this!), Yuki/Tohru, Kyo… someone… maybe… don't know yet, Kisa/Hiro (of course!), Shigure/Aya (it's possible! Maybe even true!), umm… Akito/owner of mansion!  Bwahahaha!!!!  Oh wait!  Didn't I forget some people?  Oh yeah… Momiji/Haru!  Ritsu and Hatori?  (Ooh… frightening thought!)

Well, I'm listening to scary music, so maybe it'll help!  If you want to read the first draft I had (it wasn't horror at all; it was humor!  Darn TV!), then you must request it and give me your e-mail address so I know where to send it!

Hmm… I know that no one has asked, but who wants to reason for writing all this?  It is very simple really.  I got mad at Yuki!  Yuki-kun actually.  Hehehe!  I was talking to the lady I work with about tortures I could use, and I asked her for ideas.  She came up with X-rated tortures… can't use that!  Very painful!  Yuki-kun would kill me for doing _that_ to him!  And you probably want me to shut up now, don't you?  Well, wish me luck!  Hopefully it'll be more horror-like than the first draft was…

Chapter 1:  Disappearing Yuki and Remembering Akito

            The letters on the wall sent shivers down their spines.  Tohru ran to the door, hoping it was unlocked so that she could leave this place!  "Oh no," she whispered.  It was locked… of course.

            "This is just like a movie, huh, Haru?" said Momiji, looking at the wall still.

"Yeah, but this is real."  Haru walked over to the wall.  The blood had been there for a long time.  But… whose blood was it?  Why was it on the wall like this?

            Tohru sat on the floor in front of the door, watching Haru all the while.  How could anyone be so calm and collected enough to walk up to a wall with words written in blood on it?  It was insane!

            Ayame gazed up at the many paintings.  How odd it was.  The paintings were of wealthy and happy people; most of them anyway.  He couldn't find anything that would cause something like what was on the wall.

            Ritsu clung onto Hatori's arm, feeling that someone, or _something_ was watching them very closely.  A gentle breeze whooshed past him, carrying the faint scent of death.  "AAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!" he screamed.  He ran toward the door… unfortunately running through a young gentleman in the process.  Ritsu stopped, and backed up.  "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

            The others turned to see what got Ritsu all worked up.  A silvery man floated in front of them.  "_Leave here… at once_," he said to them.  "_Hurry!  Before they find you too!_"

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-who are you?" asked Kisa. (AN: Finally, Kisa comes back into the story. -_-U)

"_That doesn't matter now.  Hurry!_"  He disappeared, leaving the others to think about what he said.  Shigure spoke up, "If we could leave, I think we would."

            Then Haru looked back at the group.  His eyes widened as he noticed something wrong.  "Where's Yuki?"

******

            "Where… where am I?"  The young boy walked along the dark and dusty hallways.  The wall had certainly unnerved him, but the rest of the house… uh, mansion… was perfectly normal, if not a little dusty.  In fact, his asthma wasn't affecting him dangerously, at least not yet.  He knew, however, that it would only get worse if he continued walking in here.

            Turning around, he noticed that he was lost.  Oh no… now what was he going to do?  Go back the way he came, of course!  He walked back through the long hall, but paused as he noticed something moving around in a room that he had recently passed going the other way.  Taking a deep breathed, he went forward.  He looked around once he was inside.  What kind of a room was this?  A terrible smell filled his nostrils, was that the smell of death?  He fell to his knees; the scent was so strong in this room.

            Feeling a cold hand lift up his chin, he could only imagine what it was he was seeing.  Was this person really… human?

******

            Tohru was in a fetal position on the floor, hoping not to see the terrible horrors of this place anymore.  _I can't believe this is happening, Mom.  I never thought that I would someday end up in a place like this.  What am I going to do?  And… where is Yuki?_  Standing up, the frightened girl swallowed back her fear as she went into a darkened hallway.  She was going to find Yuki no matter what!  Nothing was going to stop her!  She was a girl on a mission!  (AN: can't believe I'm being so nice to her…)  Nothing, not even a ghost, was going to get in her way!

******

            Akito walked around absentmindedly, not really paying much attention as to where he was going.  All he knew was that there was a painting in the entrance room that held the beautiful picture of a girl he knew once before, a long time ago… before the murders.

******

**(Memory)**

            A young girl, about ten now, laughed as she played with Ayame and Shigure in the forest outside the main house.  Her heart was weak, so she couldn't really run around too often.  Her eyes brightened when she saw Akito.

            He walked up to her, not really knowing why he did, though.  "What is it?" he asked her.

"Come on, Akito.  Please play with us.  We're playing checkers, and I'm winning!"

"No you are not!" argued Shigure.  "I'm winning!"

            Ayame just smiled.  "I'm keeping score at the moment!"

            Akito almost laughed at Aya's excitement of doing something as boring as score keeping.  However, he had to keep his rep as someone who never laughed, at least not around his family.  The girl, though, was different.  They always laughed together; sometimes at something as meaningless as an old rubber band wrapped around a squirrel's tail as it scurried up a tree.  It's just that, she always brought so much joy to his heart every time he saw her.  How could he have known what was actually going on in her house that year?

**(Chapter One… END)**

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Well?  I know, it's kinda short, huh?  Sorry… but I didn't wanna go to R just yet… and about that… Please let me know if this is indeed rated R.  Next chapter I believe is when it goes into the R range big time.  Especially with poor little Yuki and who… or what… he saw!  I'm sorry, Yuki-kun!  I couldn't help it… but when I pictured him in the hallway alone, it just seemed natural for some reason.  Huh.  Well, just let me know what you think of this, okay?  And for people who cannot handle rated R… sorry!  Maybe I'll try typing a milder one when this is over…  Well, bye everyone!  Wish me luck!  Now to try to finally start working on my project that is due Monday… don't count on it, though.

Hikari Rioki

The Future is in Your Hands


	3. Telephone Menu and the Diary

I do not own anything of Fruits Basket.  This is basically based off of the anime, but I have a few of my own characters.  You have been warned.  Everyone who reads this should know that this is definitely my first attempt at rated R stories.  You have been warned…

I cannot take full credit for this chapter.  I got some help from Shiara Ramone.  (Also, on other chapters, there may be torture ideas that I got from other people as well.)  Hope you like!

Chapter 2: Telephone Menu and the Diary

            Yuki didn't know what to think when he saw that… that… _thing_ looking down at him.  It _used_ to be human… right?  Half the skull was gone, the brain was visible, and one eye was missing.  "Wha… what… _are_ you?" Yuki managed to whisper.

******

            Tohru looked around the dark corridor, unsure of what to make of it.  Then she heard a whisper coming from a room… behind her?  She turned to look, and there was Yuki, staring at some kind of ghost with horror and fear in his eyes…  WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THING?!!!!!!!!!!!!!  What a terrible looking ghost!  "Y… Yuki!" she called, waking him from his thoughts.

"Miss Honda!"  He quickly ran out of the room.  They then continued to run together till they could run no longer, right outside what seemed like a bedroom that was destroyed in a fire.  "This place… it holds too many memories."

"What… do you mean, Yuki?"

"I feel like… I've been here before… with Akito, but it was only once.  It's changed so much then last time I've been here."  His eyes showed a hidden sadness in those violet pools of color.

            Tohru still didn't understand, but decided not to ask about it anymore, at least not till they were out of here.  She took a small step inside the bedroom.  It was completely ruined.  Then she noticed that one of the drawers in the dresser was opened slightly.  Opening it even more, she found an old tattered diary, it's cover made of red silk.  She opened to the first page.

December 27, 1991 

_            I just celebrated my seventh birthday at the Sohma main house.  Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori gave me wonderful gifts!  I can't believe how lucky I am to have friends like them!  Even if they did have schoolwork to do for their junior high classes…  I didn't get to see Akito, though._

            Tohru couldn't believe it!  Who was this person?  How did they know the Sohmas?  Did they know about the curse?  Were they a Sohma also?

"Miss Honda?  What is it?" Yuki asked her, seeing the confused look on her face.

"This… this person…  They-they knew Hatori, and Shigure, and Ayame, and… Akito."  Tohru once again began reading the entry.

            I wish he wasn't ill.  Maybe he thinks of me as just a kid!  I'm only two years younger than him!  But… I still wanna see him.  I don't know why, though.

_            Maybe I just wanna return the dream catcher that he lent to me last month.  It really works too!  Like, last week, I had great dreams every night!  I hope I can give it back to him someday.  When he's not sick, I mean._

******

            Kyo stumbled through the many winding corridors, looking for anything that could help them get out of here… or at least him.  That's when he came across a telephone in one of the halls.  "Great!  Now to see if this damn thing works!"

            He picked up the receiver and dialed a number, hoping the people he was calling were home, but his hopes were dashed when he heard the computerized voice that came through.  "If you would like to sacrifice a goat, press one or say goat.  If you would like…" as the menu went on, Kyo was surprised at all the different things you could have sacrificed, but it was the last one that really caught his attention.  "If you would like to sacrifice a pet or loved one, press the pound key."

"Hmm, that sounds interesting," he said as he pressed the button; the computerized voice continued.

"Please press the numbers that correspond with your desired sacrifice's first and last name, followed by the pound key."  Kyo thought for a second before hitting 29263-76462#.

"Take that," he said as he hung up and continued on his search.

******

            Haru and Momiji walked up the stairs and along a narrow hallway.  "Haru, I'm scared!" complained the smaller boy.

"Don't worry, Mo.  Hopefully we'll find an open window or something."  He opened a door and covered Momiji's eyes right away.

"Haru, what… what is it?"

"Just don't look, okay?"

            Corpses… everywhere you looked.  Bodies everywhere.  Some were beheaded, while others had protruding bones.  It was sickening.  Who could do something like this?  "Listen, Momiji… I want you to go back downstairs with Shigure and Aya and Ha'ri, okay?"

            Momiji tried desperately to move Haru's hand away from his eyes, but it was pointless.  "Haru!"

"Not until you promise not to look in this room."

"I promise!!"

"Okay."  Haru removed his hand and stood in the doorway.  "Now, go back downstairs, okay?"

            Momiji couldn't believe it!  Haru still treated him as a little kid.  He opened his mouth to argue, but then decided against it.  What if Haru went black?  He went back down, looking for his older relatives.  Haru turned back to the room and walked in.  "What happened here?"  He looked at everything in the room; every corpse in here was male.  Surprising.  Maybe this killer was a man-hating woman?  However, walking into another room, he saw that the majority of victims in here were female.  What the hell happened here?!

******

            "Hmm…"  A pair of soft gray eyes watched as a number appeared on the computer screen.  "Oh?"  She looked at the number.  "So… are they all here then?  I wonder who hates him so much?  Doesn't matter.  I have my duty to my family.  If only…"

******

            Hiro and Kisa walked along the corridors, stretching throughout the entire mansion.  "Hiro… why are we walking alone?"

"Hey!  We all got separated, didn't we?"

"But…"

"What is it?" Hiro asked, turning to see his favorite cousin.  Her brown eyes seemed frightened.

"Why aren't we looking for any of the others?"

"We are."

            A noise to the left made them jump.  "What was that, Hiro?"

"I don't know.  Stay here."

            Hiro crept into the room where the sound came from.  He wasn't happy by what he saw.  A giant snake-like thing slithered towards him.  Obviously it had just eating by looking at the large lump in its stomach.  Still, something this big could still be hungry!  "Kisa!!!!  Run for it!!!!!!"

******

            Yuki and Tohru walked around aimlessly.  Which way should they go?  Tohru kept the diary close to her, not letting anyone or anything try to take it away.  That's when they spotted a familiar person.  "Akito?" asked Tohru.

            Akito turned and stared at her, then turned his gaze to Yuki.  "So we found each other again."

"Akito…" Yuki started, but Akito interrupted him.

"Where did you find that?"

"What?"  Yuki turned to see what Tohru was holding.  "In a dresser."

"That diary…"  Akito seemed to be lost in thought, his mind racing with a thousand questions.  Was she really alive?

            Tohru didn't know what he was thinking, but knew it had something to do with what she was holding, so maybe he knew the girl who wrote in it.  "Akito… who did this belong to?"

"Her name's not in it?"

"No."

"Well… don't worry about it then."

******

            Shigure, Aya, Hatori, and the unconscious Ritsu, stayed in the downstairs lobby.  "Ha'ri," asked Shigure, "why did everyone leave us behind?"

"Does it matter?"

"Gure," said Aya, "maybe they're lost."

"Maybe."

            Ritsu's head popped up.  "Did I miss anything?"

"No."

~~~~~~

I finally typed it up.  Eventually the sacrificial person is going to die, but I'm sleepy now.  And I have to get ready for a movie, so g'night now everyone.  Time for a nap.

Okay, so I can't sleep.  Big deal!  Bye now.

Oh yeah, here's a little contest for those who care:  Who is going to be sacrificed?  Good luck!


	4. Race to the Lobby

Hola! Sorry 'bout the long wait. I've been busy and sick and I hafta work again. Plus I had my 18th birthday on February 3, so now I have my own computer. I'm happy!

JayJay: Hey, can you give me a suggestion for the A/Y parts? I can't think of anything… so… please help me! My e-mail is hikari_rioki@yahoo.com Thanks!

Chapter 3: Race to the Lobby

The sound of gears turning caught the attention of five Sohmas in the lobby of the mansion. Momiji looked to the others, wondering if they really heard it too. He saw that they did. "Someone must've turned something on," said Hatori.

"But what?" asked Shigure, a feeling of unease overwhelming him.

******

"This is it. I'm sorry, Ayame, but I must complete the task of killing you." A shadowy figure with gray eyes waited beneath the lobby floor. How to get Ayame alone with Shigure still around? "Should I kill them both? Since they're both together all the time, it wouldn't be such a bad idea." Laughing cruelly, the figure stepped into another hallway, stopping when she heard voices.

******

Akito still couldn't believe what Tohru was able to find in such a cursed house. "Do you mind if I see it?" he asked her.

"Why?" Yuki questioned Akito. He was sure that Akito knew something about it.

"You don't remember, which is probably best." Akito tried to grab the diary from Tohru, but she stepped away from his reach, earning herself a glare. Then she thought for a moment and gave it to him.

"This person… they really knew you," she said.

Akito nodded. He knew for certain whose it was now.

******

"Damn! The diary! I completely forgot about it," said the figure. "How could I be so stupid?! Now he's gonna find out everything!" An idea hit her like a bolt of lightning. "Whoever said that nightmares don't come true?"

******

Hiro and Kisa ran as fast as they could, not looking back at the scaly beast behind them. "Hurry!" the boy shouted.

"I'm trying to," said Kisa, starting to lose her breath. They continued running, the giant snake not far behind.

There was the exit! Just a little further. Just a few more feet…

******

Akito flipped through the diary's contents, finally coming to the last entry.

__

This is it, I guess. Tomorrow is the day… I really wish I could've seen Akito one more time, but I suppose it wasn't meant to be. Tomorrow they choose who will guard the house for all eternity. Death is not what my family fears. No, the end does not frighten us, for it is only the beginning. What we fear is someone arriving here only to meet their doom in one way or another. They don't deserve it, but it must be done. Whoever should read this last entry of my diary, I am sorry, but now you must die.

******

Knives aiming carefully into the lobby, the few occupants were unaware of their presence. Hatori thought he had heard something, so he looked toward the wall. His eyes widened when he saw the many sharp objects preparing to fire. "Get down!" he shouted as soon as they zoomed out of the wall.

******

Hiro and Kisa made it to the lobby again, but didn't know what had been set loose.

******

Akito frowned after reading the entry. If this was true, then… "We must hurry back to the others," he said, walking away from the two teens.

"But we're lost," said Tohru. "How can we possibly find them anytime soon?"

"We have to." Akito looked at them both. "They're about to die."

"What do you mean, Akito?" Yuki questioned him. "How do you even know this?"

The head of the Sohma family only looked away toward the door that he had come through earlier. "This place… is like a slaughter house. No one leaves here alive."

"But…"

"The diary," said Akito, "explained enough. We have to hurry."

Yuki nodded in agreement, and Tohru could only pray that their friends were going to be okay until they got there in time as they began their way back to the lobby.

******

Haru had been walking around aimlessly for… how long was it again? "Damn, I can't believe I got lost in a place like this," he said to himself. He came to another closed door. Opening it, he went inside. "What is this place? A library?" Books were everywhere, even lying on the floor. He walked over to one of the bookcases. "No dust. Someone must be living here. I wonder if they know about the corpses they have around here." He was about to explore some more when he heard a scream coming from downstairs. "That sounds like Kisa!"

******

Yuki, Tohru, and Akito ran as fast as they could. The scream they heard was definitely Kisa. "I hope we're not too late," Yuki panted, still running.

"I hope so, too," said Tohru.

******

Somewhere else, another member of the family was hurrying to find his younger cousin. "Dammit," Kyo mumbled, leaping down from the second floor to the first. Where was everyone? He had to find them, and quick. However, no one could even begin to predict what was going to happen next.

******

"This is only the beginning, my friends," a young woman said while standing in the shadows. "You think this is all I'm going to do? All that I'm capable of? Just you wait. I'll make sure you all suffer; then I'll kill you. One by one." Then she vanished, laughing as she left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, now I know this must be kinda short, sorry. But I wanted to get this posted before I went to work today, so… yeah. BTW, I was listening to my new Lord of the Rings: Return of the King soundtrack when I was typing this. It really helped. Bye for now.


	5. Death by Hand

Chapter 4: Death by Hand

The knives stopped firing, and everyone looked around cautiously. Was someone injured? What happened? The walls were now dented beyond belief, two even had holes telling of where a few powerful knives have gone through. Yuki, Tohru, and Akito ran into the damaged room, wide-eyed at the sight. "Is everyone okay?!" questioned Tohru, looking to see if any of the Sohmas had any wounds.

"I think so," said Hatori, checking each Sohma to make sure.

Ritsu and Kisa seemed to be suffering from shock if anything (AN: yay, Ritsu's back!). Shigure was trying to calm down, and Ayame… stared into space. Another door opened and in came Haru, panting from the long run to get here. "Is everyone… okay?"

"Yes, we're fine," said silver-haired Ayame. "Though I never want to experience something like that again."

"Same here," agreed the dog-possessed Sohma. Then, after looking around the group of people, he asked, "Where's Kyo?"

***

The last Sohma in the mansion was still running in the many, many halls. "Damn, where the hell is the lobby?" he cursed. He stopped in front of a staircase going up to catch his breath, wondering how big place really was. It felt like it was miles long, but it couldn't be… or could it? "Where the hell am I?" he then asked himself. He ran a hand through his orange hair, trying to figure out which way to go next. He looked back at the staircase. "Maybe they're on a higher level than I thought. That's it, I'm going up." He started climbing up the stairs, but age it seemed had something else in mind as the steps beneath him caved in. "Oh shit!" he shouted, falling into the darkness.

***

Yuki walked to one of the walls and pulled out a knife. The handle was made of sapphire, and the blade was extremely sharp. _What's going on here?_ he wondered, putting the weapon in his pocket just in case. He began walking back to the others when he heard a crash coming from a room to his left. _What has that stupid cat done this time?_

Walking into the room where the sound came from, Yuki saw a whole in an old staircase. "Kyo!" he exclaimed, looking down into the depths of the pitch blackness that he was sure his cousin had fallen into. "Kyo!"

"Shut up… damn rat," he heard a mumbled reply. Kyo sounded as if he was in pain.

"Don't move, Kyo, we'll think of a way to get you out," Yuki told him, yet wondering how on earth they were going to do this.

"I _can't_ move. The damn thing ended up on top of me… just get me out of here!"

"Okay. Hold on." The violet-eyed boy ran back to the lobby. "Everyone, I found Kyo but he needs help."

"What happened?" asked Hiro.

"He's fallen through a staircase. It was a very old one."

"Can you take us to him?" inquired Hatori.

"Yes, this way," Yuki answered, showing everyone the way.

Ayame was last to follow, causing him to get grabbed from behind. "Hello, Ayame Sohma."

__

Wait, he thought frantically, _I know that voice! It's her!_

"I'm sorry that I had to do this, but…" Ayame froze when he felt a sharp blade rest against his throat. "I guess you're the first one to go, huh? Don't worry, though. The others will be joining you shortly."

__

No! I still haven't been able to be a good brother to Yuki yet! And why is she doing this?! What's going on here?!

***

Shigure felt like someone was missing from their group as he continued to follow Yuki to where Kyo was. He looked behind him and saw that Aya was nowhere to be seen. _Great, he's missing. Where did he go? It's not like him to wander off on his own._ Swallowing back his own fear of this place, Shigure went back the way they came, determined to find Ayame no matter what.

And he did. As well as the one responsible for what had happened to the snake-possessed man.

***

Kyo's back was in excruciating pain, making even a simple task such as breathing difficult. He looked up after hearing a few voices getting closer and closer to where he lay. He was glad to see that he might actually get out of here. "C'mon, help me out!"

"Are you okay, Kyo?" Tohru asked him, peering down from the hole above him.

"_No_ I am _not_ okay!"

***

"How are we going to get him out, Ha'ri?" asked Momiji as Tohru tried to keep talking to him.

"I'm not entirely sure. We could try to find the room he's in, but then we might get ourselves lost here."

Kisa thought of an idea. "If you can hear Kyo's voice, then you can find him."

"And if he stops talking?" Hatori wondered.

"He won't. Some of us will stay here. Like what Sissy's doing, we'll talk to him. Is that okay, Hatori?"

The older Sohma nodded and decided who would stay. "Kisa, Hiro, Tohru and Ritsu will stay here," he told everyone. "The rest of us will search for the room that he's trapped in so we can get him out of there." He looked at Akito, curious as to what he thought about all this.

"I'll be on my own looking for a safe place to stay," said the Sohma family head. "I'll come back and get everyone once I find such a place."

"And if they're not back yet?" asked Tohru.

"Then we'll just have to wait for them," Akito answered, leaving the room.

Haru looked at the remaining people here, then questioned, "Where are Ayame and Shigure?"

Everyone then realized that the two had not been there for quite some time now. Hatori sighed in frustration. "Haru, you go look for them, then bring them here."

"Got it," said the younger Sohma, jogging out of the room.

"We better get leaving then, too," the doctor said to Yuki and Momiji. So they left.

Kisa sat next to Tohru. "Do you think they're okay?" she whispered.

"I hope so," was the whispered reply.

***

Haru stopped in the lobby, disgusted by the sight of fresh blood on the floor. "Shit!!!" he shouted, following the wet trail of the red liquid. If what he thought was true, then Shigure and Aya were… but they couldn't be! He refused to believe it! This wasn't happening! It wasn't happening!

He stopped in front of a closed door. He tried to open it, but it was locked. So, of course, he decided that the only way to get in was to break in using force. After a few powerful kicks the door collapsed, revealing a most disturbing sight, one that Hatsuharu Sohma would never be able to forget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry it took so long to update. I had severe writer's block and plus I was being lazy. So today I actually got an idea! So, here it is! Please don't hurt me for not updating for the longest time. I'm really sorry. I couldn't think. Oh well.

Reviews are always appreciated too. I thank every single person who has reviewed my story. And if you haven't been reviewing, then at least you're reading the story and I hope you like it. And well… I'll be going now. Bye-bye, everyone! I'll have the next chapter up eventually. (I hope)

Hikari Rioki


	6. Akina

Hello, world! Sorry I haven't updated in so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so long!!!!! Truth is, I had school, writer's block, and I was just being lazy too. I am truly sorry. In fact, I am only typing this right now because I finally checked up on my fan fiction account and I saw that they have a new thing called Stats, or whatever, and I saw that some people actually like me. Thank you so much! And also, for the people (or person) who said that Akito was their favorite character… Akito is my favorite character also! My background on my desktop is sometimes full of Akito pics!!!!………………Me just let you read chapter 6 now…um…please enjoy…

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WARNING: in this chapter, you find out what happened to Ayame and Shigure…so…um…beware of violence?

Chapter 5: Akina

(A/N: the beginning takes place before Shigure went looking for Ayame…um…if what I just said confused you sorry cuz I don't know how else to explain…sweat drop)

"Akina?" Ayame managed to say, the blade getting ever closer to his skin. "Why…?"

Akina said nothing, only brought the metallic blade closer to her victim. Then she sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Ayame. I really am. You were a great friend in the past, but even you could never understand what I went through. So… good bye, Ayame Sohma." Then she cut through, slicing Ayame's throat, killing him quickly. The blood flowed from him freely, dripping onto the cold hard floor. The red, sticky liquid was also on her hands and clothes. She had done this, killed one of her best friends ever. And yet…it had to be done.

"Ayame!"

The sudden shout brought Akina from her thoughts back to the cruel reality. "Shigure…?" she asked. "Is that really you…Shigure?"

He didn't say anything, only staring at Ayame's lifeless body. _H-how could this have happened?_ he wondered frantically. _Did she… did Akina really do this?_ His answer became clear when he saw the bloodied weapon in her hand, dripping from still wet blood. "Akina… why are you doing this?"

She dropped the cold corpse to the ground and walked toward the dark-haired man calmly. "Why? You want to know…why?" She looked at him coldly. "Only the head of your family, Akito Sohma, knows why I do what I do. He should've known to keep his distance from this place."

"What are you talking about? What about when we were children? We were friends, remember?" Shigure said, hoping to get through to her, the girl that he once thought of as a sister.

"Shigure Sohma… I have no friends. Protecting this mansion is my sole purpose in this life. Whoever dares to enter here is put to death… eventually." Akina grabbed his arm and placed the blade on his wrist. "I'm so sorry that I have to do this to you too," she said, leaving a small cut on his wrist then moving the blade up his arm, the blade leaving a bloody trail as it went, "but I'm afraid I have no choice. It was your mistake to come here in the first place, then searching for your cousin, not once thinking of the consequences." The blade stopped at Shigure's chest. "Here is the price you pay for your actions, Shigure Sohma. Good bye." Then she thrust forward, causing Shigure to fall on his back with the weapon in his chest. He wouldn't live long, she knew, and so she just stood there, watching him die.

_FLASHBACK_

Shigure was writing his school report on the book he read over winter break when he saw Akina watching him. "What is it?" he asked her.

"I'm bored, that's all. Ayame isn't here, and Ha'ri says that he's too busy to do anything with me. And I guess you're busy too, huh?" She continued watching him.

"I'm afraid so. You see, this report is due tomorrow, and…"

"Why are you doing it at the last minute? You know you're gonna get a bad grade because of that, don't you?"

"Anything is better than a zero."

"I guess so." Then Akina thought of something. "Say, Shigure?"

"What?"

"If you saw that your friend was in trouble, what would you do?"

"Try to help them out in any way that I can."

"Even if it meant risking your own life?"

"That's right."

_END FLASHBACK_

Haru looked around the room, and he saw Ayame and Shigure, both laying in a pool of blood. Ayame's throat was completely slashed open, and Shigure still had the murder weapon in his chest. Haru couldn't move, the sight of his cousins like this was too much for him to handle. His gaze wandered to the ground, where he saw bloody footsteps that went away from the door. Whoever did this to Ayame and Shigure, it was the same person who had left them here. He followed, not really knowing what to expect.

Akito continued walking, not really looking for a safe place but instead just trying to think. He knew it was Akina who was doing this, and the diary just proved it. It was hard to believe that such a sweet girl was capable of killing anyone who dared to enter here. Still, it was part of her family's _tradition_, or so they said. The chosen child from her family was to be the guardian of this place, and had to kill anyone who entered so that the rest of the world would not know about this place.

Akina… Akito remembered her quite well. He had not seen her in years, and now he realized what had become of her. She had become a killing machine, like others before her. Why was her family so evilly twisted? It made no sense whatsoever. It was only a mansion, like any other mansion… only difference was the dead bodies in certain rooms. He stopped suddenly after hearing a gasp come from someone in front of him. He looked up, only to see Akina staring back at him, drying blood covering her from head to toe.

Here peoples! I know it's short, but the next chapter will be up fairly soon, I have no more school for the whole summer and so I will hopefully be updating more often. (yay!)

Hikari Rioki

PS: people have told me that they like the way I write. Well, if you want to read an original story that I'm working on, it's at www.nfiction.com I hope you will take the time to read it. My pen name there is Vampire Lover. If the address doesn't show up, then check in my bio for it.


	7. Blazing Trap and Kyo's Rescue

Chapter 6: Blazing Trap and Kyo's Rescue

Akito didn't move, he couldn't move! This was Akina! His only friend ever! Blood…it was all over her. It was the blood of people he knew. The blood of people he was related to. He looked into her eyes, anger filling him. "You killed some of my relatives," he said quietly.

"I-it had to be done," Akina replied nervously. Why did Akito have to see her like this, in his family's blood? Why did this have to happen? She never wanted to harm him, never wanted to kill him, but now that he had seen her, she had no choice.

"Akina," Akito said, getting her full attention, "why do you listen to your family's nonsense?"

"Huh? Nonsense? What do you mean?"

"You are better than this, Akina. You are not a killing machine, you are a human being. Please, remember that!"

"Akito…" she started, but then shook her head. "I… I have to kill you now."

"Akina, listen to me! You don't have to kill anyone! You can leave this place!" Akito desperately wanted to get her out of here, but he knew that it wasn't going to be easy.

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Kyo wondered when the others were going to find him. "Kyo!" called Tohru from above him.

"What?" he asked. He didn't really feel like talking, at least not with his back in so much pain! However, he knew that he had to keep talking, or they'd never find him.

"Um… uh… well… what's your favorite color?" Tohru had no idea what to talk about.

"I don't really have a favorite color."

"How about favorite food?"

"I don't have a favorite food either."

"Do you have a favorite anything?"

"No! Now stop asking me stupid questions!" snapped Kyo. He mentally kicked himself for being so mean to her. "Look, I didn't mean to yell at you like that."

"I-it's okay. Really," said Tohru. She looked over at Kisa, Hiro, and Ritsu. "Any ideas?"

The other three shook their heads. Sighing, Tohru tried to think of something else to say. Then she had an idea. "Hey, Kyo?"

"What?"

"What would you want to do once we get out of here?"

Kyo was startled by the question. "Don't you mean _if_ we get out of here?"

"No, Kyo, I mean _when_. We are going to get out of here, I just know it."

"Well, in that case. I guess I would just be happy to be alive, just glad to be out of here. I don't know what I'll actually do, but I know I can't wait to get out of here."

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Akina continued staring at Akito, not sure of what to do. She knew that she had a duty to her family, to kill anyone who entered this place, but seeing Akito again… She didn't know what to do. _I have to kill him_, she thought to herself frantically. _I have to kill him!_

"Akito!" they both heard someone shout. Turning, they saw a teen boy with white and black hair. It was Haru, and he appeared to be Black at the moment. He stood there, glaring at the girl covered in blood, Shigure and Ayame's blood. He knew what she had done, and he was going to make her pay.

However, it seemed that Akina had other plans. She walked backwards, out of the hallway. Once out, she walked over to a wall. "I'm sorry I have to do this to you, Akito," she said, pressing a button in the wall. "But it must be done." She then left them as her trap came to life.

The sound of creaking gears filled the area. The walls surrounding them appeared to be moving on their own. Akito looked around them cautiously, unsure of what to expect. Then he noticed a hole in the wall to his left that looked suspiciously like… "A flame thrower."

Instantly, the hall filled with flames, both Sohmas running out of there as fast as they could. However, they were cut off by another set of flame throwers on the other side. "Shit," Haru cursed, looking around. "Now how the hell are we supposed to get out of here?"

"We're not supposed to be able to get out of here, Haru," Akito informed him. "No one is allowed to leave this place alive."

"Don't say that, Akito. We're gonna get out of here, and we're gonna be alive. I promise."

"And why would you want to help me, Haru?" the Sohma head asked.

"I have my reasons," was the quiet reply.

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Hatori listened closely to Kyo's voice. When it started getting louder, he knew they were going the right way. He looked over at Yuki and Momiji, making sure that they hadn't disappeared. They didn't, which was a good sign. Then he stopped in front of an old-looking door that was boarded shut. From what he could hear, Kyo was inside that room. Now…how to open the door?

Momiji stepped up to the door, also realizing that they had reached their destination finally. "How are we gonna open it, Ha'ri?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, Momiji."

"Would this help?" asked Yuki, holding up a hammer that he had found. It seemed to be a little rusty, with maybe a few specks of blood on it from who knows when.

"Yes," answered Hatori, "I think it would work." He took the hammer from Yuki, and swung at the door, causing it to burst open.

Kyo looked at them, wide-eyed at what just happened to the old door he had gotten used to staring at. Then he grinned and said, "It's about time you got here."

"If you hadn't stopped talking, we would have gotten here sooner, stupid cat," Yuki informed him.

"Whatever, you damn rat! Just get this thing off of me!" shouted the cat-possessed teen. Hatori and Yuki removed the chunks of wood from on top of Kyo, while Momiji made sure that no one was coming. There was a dangerous person in this place, and whoever it was, Momiji knew he didn't want to meet them. _I sure hope Haru's okay_, he thought quietly as Kyo was finally freed from his wooden cage.

"Finally!" the orange-haired teen exclaimed. However, when he tried to stand, pain rushed through his body, causing him to fall to ground. "Damn it, that hurts," he mumbled.

Immediately, Hatori was at his side. "What's wrong, Kyo?" he asked his younger relative.

"Well, my back is feeling better, but my leg isn't."

"Which leg is it, Kyo?" asked the doctor as Yuki looked at his orange-haired cousin with concern.

"My right leg." Hatori checked to see if any bones were broken, his suspicions confirmed when Kyo gasped in pain.

"It's broken," he said quietly, helping Kyo up. "Put your arm around my shoulders," he told the cat.

Kyo did as Hatori told him, feeling tired and annoyed. He hated having broken bones, especially a broken leg. This was because a broken leg meant he couldn't really go anywhere on his own, and he hated it when people helped him with anything. Suddenly he realized that Yuki was also helping him get to the others. Now why was that damn rat helping the stupid cat like this? It didn't make much sense, and it just annoyed Kyo even more. He desperately wished that they could get out of here as quickly as they could so that everything would be back to normal… Well, almost everything.

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FLASHBACK

The sun was peeking through the trees as she walked around the massive Sohma property. Then she saw him, Akito Sohma. She loved him dearly, and she was surprised when she came to this realization. However, the look on his face at that moment, so dark and cold, frightened her. What was going on? She followed him cautiously, hiding behind the door he came out of. That's when she heard it, soft crying coming from inside the dark room. Peeking inside, she saw a young boy. "Are you okay?" she asked him softly.

He looked at her through violet eyes, tears flowing through them freely.

"What happened to you?" the strange girl asked him.

He looked away, though, not wanting to answer. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone about what Akito did to him. "It's nothing," he quietly lied, refusing to look at her.

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yes."

The girl smiled warmly at him. "What's your name?"

He looked back at her again. "Y-Yuki Sohma."

"Nice to meet you, Yuki. I'm Akina." Then she gave him a hug, causing the small boy to transform into a rat. Yuki almost panicked until he realized that the girl was still smiling at him. "I thought so. You're just like Shigure and Ayame, aren't you?"

"You… know about us?" asked Yuki, calming down a little.

"Yes, actually. Although I'm not supposed to. This will be our little secret, okay, Yuki?"

The small rat nodded. He was surprised to see that she wasn't at all frightened or disgusted by what he was, and it made him glad.

__

END FLASHBACK

Yuki stopped suddenly, startling both Kyo and Hatori. "Hey, damn rat, why the hell did you stop?" questioned Kyo.

"Sorry," mumbled Yuki, wondering why he would remember that girl now of all times. What had caused him to remember that day? Did he even want to know? He then remembered the diary that Tohru had found earlier, and how Akito had reacted when he saw it. What was going on?

"Do you think the others are okay?" Momiji asked quietly. He was walking closely behind the others, not wanting to get separated.

"I hope so," Hatori said truthfully.

Kyo and Yuki only nodded in agreement. This place was dangerous, and both of them knew it. How were they ever going to get out of here alive?

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Hiro sighed as he leaned against a wall. The whole vacation so far was a mess, and Kisa was terrified. How could anything else go wrong?

"They got Kyo," Tohru informed everyone in the room.

"That's good," said Ritsu, standing up. "That means that everyone will be coming back in here, right?"

"Yeah, I think so," said the girl. _I'm glad they got Kyo out of there_, she thought to herself. _Now I just hope that they can find their way back here. And I hope that… the others are okay, too._

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There you go, people. I finally had an idea for this. And guess what? Ironically, Kingdom Hearts music was playing in my head when I typed this up, and my brother wouldn't shut up about his gameboy game with his pokemon. He's complaining about not being able to switch out pokemon in a battle. Oh well, hope ya guys liked this chapter. I had fun typing it.


	8. Secret Passage

Hey people. I decided to update this because of a review I just got recently.

Chapter 7: Secret Passage

The embers were unbearably hot. Haru looked around frantically, trying to figure out a way to escape this burning death trap. Black smoke was rising to the ceiling, lessening the amount of oxygen they had. He looked over at Akito, seeing that he wasn't doing very well at the moment. He could hardly breathe because of the heat and the increasing amount of smoke. They were in big trouble now; what were they going to do? How could they escape?

What if we really can't escape this? Haru wondered to himself miserably.

'I can help you,' said an eerie voice.

"Who's there?" he questioned, looking around.

"What are you talking about, Haru?" Akito managed to ask him.

"I have no idea," confessed the younger Sohma.

'Please, let me help you.'

There it is again, Haru thought to himself, still looking around, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. A strange coolness swept over him ever so slightly that he barely felt it. As he turned his gaze upward, he came face-to-face with a shimmering white face that was so transparent he could clearly see the smoke above it. _Oh shit, a ghost._

(scene change)

Momiji looked around nervously. He had gotten separated from the others, and now didn't know where he was. "Ha'ri?" he said quietly as he searched for his older relatives. "Yuki? Kyo? Where are you guys?" He walked into an empty-looking hallway, almost immediately regretting it afterwards. The walls were moving, not a good sign. However, when he turned around to try to go back the way he came, another wall had blocked his path. Fear overcame him quickly, causing him to huddle in a corner. He didn't want to leave this spot, not wanting to get into any more trouble than he already was in.

He suddenly realized that the wall he was leaning against was moving again, pushing him down the hall. Standing up, he began walking cautiously ahead of the wooden structure. A loud rumbling sound came to his ears. What was that? It seemed to be coming from above him. Momiji dared to look up, seeing a large hole in the ceiling above him. And that meant… that that sound he heard was… "Oh no!"

(scene change)

"Where did Momiji go?" Yuki asked suddenly, looking around for the small blonde boy.

"I don't know," Hatori admitted.

Kyo looked around also, the best he could. However, he saw no sign of the cheerful rabbit. "This isn't good," he mumbled.

"Yuki," said Hatori, "take Kyo back to the others. I'm going to go back and look for Momiji."

"Okay," said the violet-eyed boy. "And do be careful."

"I will be." Then he left to search for his younger relative.

(scene change)

'I can help you escape this trap if you'll let me,' the ghostly figure told Haru. It looked over to Akito. _'He won't last much longer unless you trust me.'_

"Fine then," said Hatsuharu Sohma. "Show us how to get out of here."

The smoke was becoming thicker and thicker, making it more and more difficult to breathe. Akito coughed violently, getting weaker and weaker by the second. He barely noticed when Haru grabbed his arm, but turned his full attention to the younger Sohma when he began dragging him over to one of the walls. Swallowing nervously, Haru pushed on it, making the wall slide inward. After giving a sigh of relief, he pushed on it even more until there was enough room for the two of them to fit inside the small opening he had just made. The change in temperature was evident in here, much cooler than the blazing hallway. Giving the moving wall a final shove, Haru felt it hit yet another wall then looked to his side. There was an opening into another room. He pulled Akito inside, wanting to get him away from the fiery death trap they were in just minutes before. "We're still alive," he said proudly to the Sohma head.

"Yes, you're right," Akito said gladly.

After a few moments of filling their lungs with clean oxygen, they decided to look around the new room. It looked older than the rest of the mansion that they had seen so far. Stone walls, no electricity, a long and narrow hall to their left. The only light that seemed to be coming inside came from the fires in the other hall and the ceiling, which had holes and cracks in it. "Looks like a forgotten part of the mansion," said Akito, still looking around them. "It has been hidden for so long that they have forgotten it completely."

"We can hide out in here then," said Haru. "At least until morning. It looks like the sun is setting by the color of the sky."

"Yes." Akito looked Haru in the eye. "To make sure that we aren't caught alive by Akina, do you mind moving the wall back to where it was before?"

"No problem," said the black-and-white-haired teen, doing as was asked of him. He didn't want to go through another experience like that for the rest of his life.

(scene change)

Yuki and Kyo made it back to the others safely. "You're back!" exclaimed Tohru. "Thank goodness!"

"Where is Momiji though?" Kisa asked worriedly.

"We got separated," explained Yuki, setting Kyo down on the floor. "Hatori went back to look for him."

"Did you guys ever find Shigure and Ayame yet?" inquired Hiro.

"No, not yet." Yuki sat down next to Kyo, obviously deep in thought. What had happened to his brother Ayame? And what about Shigure? He wanted to find out, no matter what. Sure he didn't always get along with the two older Sohmas, but that did not mean that he didn't worry about them. "When are we going to go looking for them?" he asked the others.

No one answered, unsure of what to say themselves.

(scene change)

Hatori searched every hall he came across. "This place is like a damn labyrinth," he growled, frustrated that he couldn't find Momiji anywhere. Where on Earth was the kid?

He kept walking, though. The fact that Momiji may still be alive kept him going.

Momiji ran as fast as he could down the long corridor, the rumbling sound getting louder. He paused for a moment and looked behind him as he heard the rumbling silence, only to end up watching a large boulder drop from the hole that was in the ceiling. Unfortunately, the hall he was in went downhill, causing the boulder to come tumbling down after him, increasing speed every few feet. The blonde boy resumed his running, wanting to make it to the end of the corridor as fast as he could and, hopefully, being able to escape into a different area.

The round stone followed him still, unable to slow or stop. But Momiji kept moving, not wanting to be crushed under its great weight. This was not the kind of vacation he had wanted to take, not at all.

(scene change)

The sun was gone now, and the stars displayed a beautiful picture above the mansion. Akito and Haru gazed up at the little sky diamonds almost peacefully. The lovely picture in the sky sent a relaxing feeling through them, yet they couldn't help but still feel saddened by Shigure and Ayame's deaths. They were blood-relatives, and now they were gone. Just a few hours earlier they were as alive and healthy as they could possibly be, but now… they were no longer among the living. They had been killed by someone who was once very close to the Sohma family, and to them.

"Akito," Haru said quietly.

"What is it?"

"Do you think that there really is a way out of here?"

Akito looked at him in surprise. "Giving up already, Hatsuharu Sohma?"

"It just seems so hopeless."

"That's what Akina wants you to think," Akito told him. "There is a way out; I can feel it." He layed down on his back and kept watching the stars. "By the way, Haru… how did you know about this passage?"

Haru settled himself down next to Akito. "A ghost told me about it."

"A ghost, eh?"

"It's the truth."

"Alright," yawned the head of the Sohma family. Looking into Haru's grayish-green eyes, he said, "How about in the morning, we begin searching for the rest of our family?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," answered Haru, surrendering to an uneasy sleep.

Akito nodded and let himself fall into the depths of the sea of dreams.

(author's note)

What do you guys think of that? Good enough for ya? Please review. By the way, fanfiction is starting to get on my nerves cuz I couldn't put symbols for scene changes like I used to, so that's why I spelled them out. It's being mean to me.


	9. Reunion

Fruits Basket does not belong to me.

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Chapter 8: Reunion

Haru awoke the next morning slowly, carefully opening his eyes and wondering where in the world he was. That's when he remembered the past events. _That's right_, he thought, _we came in here because of those flamethrowers…_ He looked over at Akito, noticing that the young man was actually awake and staring into nothingness. "Morning, Akito," the younger Sohma said.

"Oh, good morning, Hatsuharu." Akito looked toward the darkened hallway. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, come on," said Haru, helping Akito up. Then they both began walking down the hallway. The dark stone walls felt cool to the touch, Haru noticed, feeling his way through. Since there were no lights in here, and there was an actual ceiling, it was difficult to see where one was going. They paused in their tracks, however, when they heard a shout for help coming from just a short distance away. _Oh no, Momiji!_ Haru thought frantically, speeding up his pace toward the end of the hall, Akito just a few steps behind him. Praying with all their mite that their young relative was going to be okay, they hurried to the location where they thought he might be.

* * *

Momiji was running as fast as his legs would go, not wanting to be crushed at all by the giant rolling, tumbling boulder. "Help!" he cried, running out of breath. Still, he kept running; nothing was going to stop him from escaping this cruel fate. As he quickly rounded a corner, he felt someone grab him by the arm and pull him out of the corridor of certain death. 

Looking up, the blonde boy was glad to see who had found him. "Haru!" he exclaimed breathlessly.

"Yeah, it's me, Miji." Haru embraced the little rabbit-possessed boy, then turned to Akito. "Let's get out of here."

"Right," answered Akito as they went back through the hall, looking for the doorways they had found while looking for Momiji.

* * *

"Not here either," Hatori said to himself as he looked in an empty room. Where could Momiji have run off to? 

The sound of footsteps caught his attention immediately, though causing him to be a bit suspicious. Could it be his younger cousin, or someone else? Deciding to investigate, the dragon quietly walked to the doorway and glanced out. He saw the shadow of an individual unfamiliar to him, and so he went back into hiding within the darkness of the room. He wasn't very sure who else could be here, and he didn't think he would want to find out.

A pause in the steps in front of the opened door alerted him that the person was just a few feet away. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," came a woman's voice that sounded unbelievably familiar to him. Where had he heard that voice before? She walked into the room, switching on the light, coming face to face with Hatori Sohma, yet another one of her old friends. "Hatori?" she asked in disbelief.

"Akina? What are you doing in a place like this?"

She looked away. "I live here. Didn't you know that?"

Hatori didn't respond, still a bit stunned to see this young woman after so many years of absolutely no contact. No one knew how she was doing; she just seemed to have disappeared off the face of the Earth. But here she was. "You… live here?"

"That's right," answered Akina. "I'm sorry, Hatori, but now… I must kill you."

Had he actually heard her correctly? Was she really going to try to kill him? "Why are you doing this?" he questioned her. "You have no reason to do this, or for even remaining in this place."

"You know how your family has a curse? Mine sorta does too; this mansion. After we are of age we cannot leave here. The outside world is poisonous and dreadful."

She was brainwashed, the doctor thought to himself frantically as he saw Akina take a bloodied knife out of her pocket. She smiled evilly at him, "The blood of your cousins is on this blade. Soon yours will be, too."

Shigure and Ayame? "Please, Akina, do not do this."

"I have no choice, Hatori. I have been taught to never let anyone leave this house alive."

"Why did they teach you that?"

Akina looked genuinely shocked at the question. "H-huh? What do you mean?"

"Why would your family teach you how to kill innocent people? Are you from a family of serial killers?"

* * *

Akito stopped at a dead end, pondering whether or not to turn around right now or wait and rest. Haru and Momiji brought up the rear, frowning at what they found. "Is there any way out of here?" the young blonde asked his two older relatives. He really didn't want to be here anymore, especially after almost being crushed by the giant boulder. This place was terrible trouble. 

Haru walked up to the wall, looking at it curiously. _I wonder_, he thought to himself as he pushed on it a little, causing it to move slightly. "I thought so," he then said aloud, alerting the two behind him. He pushed it through, looking around the room they had now just arrived in.

"It's the lobby," said Akito, seeing that nothing had changed since the knife attack.

"You're alive!" they heard someone exclaim from another doorway. They looked to see many of their other relatives. The person who had shouted to them was Tohru.

"We almost got killed," Haru explained, finally checking himself for burns. "There was a hall full of flamethrowers, a giant boulder chasing Momiji, that psychopathic woman…"

"I think we get the point, Haru," Yuki told him.

Kyo looked at the small group. "Did you guys see Hatori anywhere?" he finally asked.

Akito shook his head, now becoming worried about his friend. Hatori had probably gone off looking for them, and then had gotten lost in this mansion. _Please be safe, Hatori… please…

* * *

_

"If you don't have an answer, then stop."

She glared at him. "This isn't exactly something you can just quit, ya know. I've been doing this for years. Besides, it's my duty to protect my mansion."

Hatori still didn't back down though, not yet. He had to try, had to have hope. He knew that there was someway to get through to her, but what? "Akina," he said finally, looking into her eyes, "I will not allow you to harm anyone else."

She grinned. "Well, what do ya know? You can want revenge also, eh? So, Mr. Bookworm thinks he can stop me, eh?" She held the blade up high. "Let's see you try to stop me, Hatori. If you can, then I'll think about stopping… after every one of you is dead."

Chapter 8 End

A/N: um…uh…I know I haven't updated in a long time… and if any of you read Jade Sohma, then I truly apologize for the delay. However, I was looking for what I had started for it and I realized that I didn't have it anymore. In other words, I'm gonna have to rewrite the whole thing. Sorry. And about this chapter that you guys just read. I know it's short, but it's really late and I have school tomorrow. I'll try to start writing more often for you guys. I'm really sorry about the long wait. Oh yeah, sorry about any OOC parts that were in the chapter also. I was almost falling asleep while writing.

**_Hikari Rioki_**

PS: IF YOU DO NOT REVIEW, I MAY NOT UPDATE FOR A REALLY LONG TIME AGAIN.


	10. Dodge

**Chapter 9: Dodge**

The small group sat on the floor of the lobby. They didn't know what else to do. Should they go and search for Hatori? It sounded like a very dangerous thing to do at the moment. But… what if he was in trouble? What if he needed their help right now? "Damn, I hate this," growled Kyo.

"What about all this do you hate?" questioned Haru.

"All of it!"

"Why don't you shut up?" offered Hiro.

"Why don't you!"

"Uh," said Tohru, "please don't fight."

This only resulted in Kyo and Hiro glaring at her, their anger and frustration getting the better of them.

"Stop that," snapped Yuki. "You shouldn't glare at her like that."

"Oh yeah!" growled Kyo, though deep down he did regret making Tohru feel bad. "Well, what else _can_ we do, damn rat! Hatori's lost in this damn mansion somewhere and there's no way we can help him cuz we don't know where he is!"

The violet-eyed boy looked down. "I know..."

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The silver blade, painted red with the life of Shigure and Ayame, came swiftly at him, barely missing him as he quickly moved out of the way. "Almost got you, Hatori." Akina grinned at him slightly, insanity controlling her every action.

"Don't remind me," replied the doctor. What was he going to do? How was he going to be able to get the weapon out of her hands? He had to think of something, and fast. "Ah..!"

He held his bleeding arm; she got him that time. It stung painfully, but he couldn't think too much on it as he avoided getting hit a second time, the blade very close to cutting his leg. This wasn't good. He couldn't take much more of this.

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Haru sighed as he glanced at everyone. "I'm gonna look for Hatori," he said simply.

Yuki was the first to try and stop him. "Don't. With your luck, you'll end up getting lost, too."

"Maybe, but I'm not gonna let a really bad sense of direction stop me. Besides, if Hatori _does_ need help, then I should be the one to help him. I'm starting to get used to the way this place was built. It has many secret passageways that can take you pretty much anywhere in the mansion."

Kyo was quiet for a few more moments before saying, "Let Haru go. If anyone can find Hatori in a place like this, it's gonna be Haru."

Yuki still seemed a bit uneasy about it, but nodded in agreement. "Just be careful, alright, Haru?"

The cow smiled at him. "No need to worry 'bout me, Yuki. I'll be sure to keep myself safe; I promise." And with that, he left the group in search of Hatori, wondering where he could be.

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Laughing slightly, Akina smiled at the bleeding dragon. She had struck him about three more times, knowing that he was starting to slow down and wouldn't be able to dodge much longer. "Look at you, Hatori. You're about to die, just like Shigure and Ayame. At least you'll all be together again soon, right?"

Hatori didn't answer, though. He just wanted out of this losing situation. The knife came at him once again; he avoided the blow, but only by just a few inches. _I don't know how much longer I can keep this up._

"Just surrender, Hatori. Make things easy for yourself for once."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I'll never surrender to a murderer like you."

"Wow. Bookworm has got some courage after all. Or maybe it's just foolishness." The young woman held up her blade once more, preparing perhaps a final strike. "It will all be over soon."

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Haru looked in every room he came across. Where was Hatori? The usually calm, sometimes insane, teen was starting to get really worried. "Hatori," he said aloud, as if hoping the man would hear him, "where the hell are you?"

He received no answer from the many empty rooms. He continued walking, desperately now, wanting to see his friend and relative again... alive.

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The lobby's occupants were quiet, staying right where they were so that no one else would get lost. Kisa was starting to cry, wanting to go home and be away from here. Hiro was doing his best to comfort her. Kyo was trying hard not to show how much pain he was in, but it was actually kind of difficult. "You okay, Kyo?"

He looked up at Tohru as she sat next to him. "I'm fine," he told her.

She didn't look convinced, though. "You know, Kyo.. it's okay if you're in pain. I would actually be surprised if you weren't in any pain at all."

Hearing her words made him believe it was okay, but there was no way he was going to show any kind of weakness in front of Yuki. Suddenly wondering where the rodent was, he glanced around the lobby before finding him talking to Ritsu about who knows what. It looked like the rat was trying to calm the monkey down. Knowing that Yuki wouldn't have time to pay attention to him for awhile, Kyo let his guard down, his pain getting the better of him. It was okay. It was okay to show how you truly felt. It was okay...

**Chapter Nine... End**

_A/N: Sorry about the long wait and all that. I didn't have any ideas for it for a long time, and then I sort of forgot about it. Sorry, people. You guys have some good reviewers to thank for the update. So, be sure to give a big thanks to them._

_And next time I don't update for a super long time... e-mail me at the e-mail address in my profile. You can also e-mail me just to say hi or something. Oh yeah, I also have stories on **www . nfiction . com **under the pen names **Vampire Lover** and **Raven of Darkness Shadows**. I also have original fics on **www . fictionpress . com **under the pen name **Zetsuya**. Also on the two sites, I have stories that I'm working on with my coauthor, and our pen name on both sites is **Rose Raven**._


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